Good Weekend

We enjoyed All Saints Anglican Church in Vevey Sunday morning - vibrant, full, with a contemporary mission, yet deeply structured liturgically; the "worship team" (for you newbies, pretty much the warm-up act to services these days, which either drops or maintains the energy level thereafter) was eclectic (cello, congos, violin) with no singers, effectively removing their role as the emotive mirror of the congregation. I generalize that, like the Manora cafeteria we enjoy, blending American concerns for personal immediacy and openness within an existing framework (aesthetic, historical, or theological) - sometimes yields something positive - a reforming, rather than the baby-out-with-bathwater gesture. The choruses sung were musically contemporary yet retained a high level of diction (except the one we ended with), so I never got "the kids have taken over" feeling. A largely Nestle expat congregation with considerable turnover and its accompanying problems; we're simply the next wave.

We spent the rest of the day with old friends, Rodman & Becky Miller. I knew them when I lived in Switzerland back in the early '80s.

Leaving the lake to reach the Millers' valley above Vevey.

Feeding sheep on the hill above their house.

Reminded me of this TV ad and is one thing about SoCal we don't miss.



From their terrace.

On Saturday, we walked to a kid-friendly beach and I tried one of the single-use grills I'd seen around. No one grilled outdoors in public when I was here 25 years ago (I remember getting quite a few stares cooking teriyaki chicken on a hibachi near Chateau Chillon), but now it's quite common and you see more elaborate grills in backyards.

I have been finding all kinds of changes here, but undoubtedly I've changed as well, 'though who's tracking that. Kinda like seeing someone after 20 years and noticing how old THEY look.

A lovely woman Jack befriended on a boat ride.

Finally, a tree the boys can climb!